Face The Nation

Sen. Lindsey Graham: Trump should keep John Kelly, H.R. McMaster

After the latest round of staff shake-ups at the White House, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, says he has "a lot of confidence" in national security adviser H.R. McMaster and chief of staff John Kelly.

"I'm very confident in H.R. McMaster. I think he's learned as much about the war on terror from fighting it than anybody that I know. I think he's really smart on North Korea and Iran. I hope the president will keep him around," Graham on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

Graham's comments come after the president slammed reports that Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis were seeking to oust McMaster as "fake news." NBC News reported on Thursday that Stephen Biegun, a current Ford executive with national security experience during the George W. Bush administration, was the top contender to replace McMaster.

Amid the speculation, Raj Shah, principal deputy press secretary, said the White House frequently faces "rumor and innuendo about senior administration officials. There are no personnel announcements at this time."

On Sunday, Graham said McMaster's future is "up to the president. He can fire anybody he likes, but I have a lot of confidence in Gen. McMaster."

Graham said he had confidence in Kelly, who joked this week that leaving his role as secretary of homeland security to become Mr. Trump's chief of staff was a punishment from God. Kelly made the remark Thursday morning at an event marking the 15th anniversary of his old department.

"I miss every one of you every day," Kelly said, rolling his eyes as the audience laughed. "Truly, six months, the last thing I wanted to do was walk away from one of the great honors of my life -- being the secretary of homeland security -- but I did something wrong, and God punished me, I guess."